Wizarding World Of Harry Potter... For Everyone?

Is anyone else über excited that the wizarding world will be revealed to muggles on June 18th??? What I wouldn´t give to be hanging out at the Three Broomsticks sipping on a delicious over-priced butterbeer… or shopping for a new wand… And the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida where this grand money-making (albeit awesome) entertainment park is springing up is only a quick flight from my current HQ in Costa Rica… (An acquaintance of mine was on the floor doing yoga this morning and her dog trotted up and dropped a live boa constrictor on her stomach – which I interpreted as a clear reminder that sometimes you really need to get away from the jungle for a while to re-connect with “the real world” and just like… chill out in the Gryffindor Common Room.)

But the magical wizarding world really depends upon which planet you live on, because in Congo children accused of witchcraft and sorcery by their parents and authorities are not being sent to Hogworts, but instead are being abandoned on the streets, burnt, beat up, tortured, starved, and worse. Sounds just like a nation of Dursley´s… Or what I like to describe as “uneducated, violent, child abusers”. Despite there being a law against making witchcraft allegations against children (which would be ludicrous at Hogworts) the law is very hard to enforce, especially when many of the government officials believe in sorcery themselves

Back to the theme park, where I can travel by floo powder, stuff my pockets with chocolate frogs and get my photo taken inside Dumbledore’s office, construction is in full force. The $200 million dollar project boasts state-of-the-art newly patented technologies and, once open to the public, really long lines which you have to stand in for hours on end if you want to go on a ride (which conveniently exit through the gift shop).

Meanwhile, on a different planet, everyone’s favourite celebrity Ben Affleck has been less focused on “The Boy Who Lived” and more interested in the ones who are dying. Having recently returned from the Congo, Affleck has been working to launch a grassroots initiative which will help rebuild communities after decades of war. Congo is described as one of the most troubled places on earth - probably because ongoing crisis has killed 5 million people in just 12 years – deadlier statistics than swine flu, earthquakes or Avada Kedavra.

Maybe when I visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (as I totally will) and I find myself gazing into the mysterious Mirror of Erised, I will see something better for those poor little kids on the streets of Congo. Maybe I will see people trying to help others less fortunate in the world. Or maybe I will just see a very spoiled girl looking back at me, through a regular un-magic mirror, who was amazingly lucky to be born where she was.